B&CE’s Charitable Trust launches £20,000 Mowlem Award 2021

B&CE’s Charitable Trust¹ has today launched (September 2) the Mowlem Award 2021², which will see one organisation receive a grant of £20,000 to help them deliver training or promote health and safety in construction.

Entries opened on Thursday 2 September with the Trust looking for projects that will make a significant difference to the construction industry; will benefit a minimum of 50 individuals within the year; and are from a UK-based organisation with recognised construction industry accreditations.

Nicola Sinclair, the head of B&CE’s Charitable Trust, said:

“We’re an organisation that exists to support the key workers who power the construction industry and we’re delighted to be able to offer the Mowlem Award once again. We had a record number of entries last year and know from working closely with previous winners how well received this award is and the impact this award has on the lives of individuals.”

Last year, B&CE’s Charitable Trust received its highest number of Mowlem Award applications ever and the judging panel made two ‘highly commended’³ awards to two charities as a result.

The winners, EN:Able Communities⁴, impressed judges with its bold plan to offer entry-level construction training to 121 unemployed people, with the aim of helping them start a new career. Already the project has already seen 28 people start online training with a total of 15 people obtaining Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards. Three of those have already started their construction careers as a result.

One of the highly commended entries was Bounce Back Foundation, a charity which supports ex-offenders and those at risk of offending and has supported 3,000 people to turn their lives around over the last 10 years. The Foundation spent its £5,000 grant from B&CE’s Charitable Trust on helping 12 people so far get their CSCS cards, also giving them access to tablets and data so they could study remotely. Two men have already found work as a result with more expected.

Jo Black, Bounce Back’s head of funding and impact, said:

“Without the Mowlem grant we wouldn’t have had the money to provide these CSCS cards, which are essential to the men getting a job. Projects like this one are really important because if people quickly get a job once they have left prison, they are less likely to offend. Only one in 10 of our participants goes onto reoffend, compared to the average reoffending rate of more than 50 per cent.”

The closing date for applications is Friday 8 October at 5pm. Visit here for full criteria and how to apply.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. B&CE’s Charitable Trust was set up in 1991 to give back to the construction industry by providing help for people working in construction in times of need, including grants towards education, financial support and retraining. It has given out millions of pounds in charitable donations over the past 30 years. B&CE Group is a not-for-profit organisation established in 1942 by unions and federations with the intention of providing financial products for the construction industry. Today B&CE is perhaps best known for The People’s Pension, a leading workplace pension scheme with more than five million pension savers from over 95,000 employers and £16 billion assets under management.
2. Launched in 2015, the Mowlem Award furthers the work of the RI Beck Trust – a charity set up in 1983 by the construction company, Mowlem. The annual £20,000 grant is awarded to organisations that can demonstrate they will make a real difference towards training or the promotion of health and safety in construction.
3. The two highly commended entries for 2020 award were St Mungo’s, a homeless charity, and Bounce Back Foundation, which works with ex-offenders to drive social change and tackle the issue of re-offending. Each received a grant of £5,000.
4. EN: Able is the charity arm of Efficiency North, a not for profit organisation which works across a number of platforms to improve life for deprived communities across the Yorkshire and Humber region.

For more details on this press release, contact Blaise Tapp, the media relations manager at B&CE, on 01293 205336 or email blaisetapp@bandce.co.uk